Abstract: Do you carry a cell phone? Today, chances are it's called a
"smartphone" and it came with a three-to-five megapixel lens built-in --
not to mention an MP3 player, GPS or even a bar code scanner. This
'Swiss-Army-knife' trend represents the natural progression of
technology -- as chips become smaller/more advanced, cell phones absorb
new functions.

What if, in the future, new functions on our cell phones could also protect us from toxic chemicals?

Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)'s Cell-All is such an initiative. Cell-All
aims to equip cell phones with a sensor capable of detecting deadly
chemicals. The technology is ingenious. A chip costing less than a
dollar is embedded in a cell phone
and programmed to either alert the cell phone carrier to the presence
of toxic chemicals in the air, and/or a central station that can monitor
how many alerts in an area are being received. One might be a false
positive. Hundreds might indicate the need for evacuation.

How would this wizardry work? Just as antivirus software bides its
time in the background and springs to life when it spies suspicious
activity, so Cell-All would regularly sniffs the surrounding air for certain volatile chemical compounds.

When a threat is sensed, an alert ensues in one of two ways. For
personal safety issues such as a chlorine gas leak, a warning is
sounded; the user can choose a vibration, noise, text message or phone
call. For catastrophes such as a sarin gas attack, details—including
time, location and the compound—are phoned home to an emergency
operations center. While the first warning is beamed to individuals,
the second warning works best with crowds. And that's where the genius
of Cell-All lies—in crowd sourcing human safety.

Currently, if a person suspects that something is amiss, he might
dial 9-1-1, though behavioral science tells us that it's easier to do
nothing. And, as is often the case when someone phones in an emergency,
the caller may be difficult to understand, diminishing the quality of
information that's relayed to first responders. An even worse scenario:
the person may not even be aware of the danger, like the South Carolina
woman who last year drove into a colorless, odorless, and poisonous
ammonia cloud.

In contrast, anywhere a chemical threat breaks out—a mall, a bus, subway or office—Cell-All
will alert the authorities automatically. Detection, identification,
and notification all take place in less than 60 seconds. Because the
data are delivered digitally, Cell-All reduces the chance of human error. And by activating alerts from many people at once, Cell-All
cleverly avoids the long-standing problem of false positives. The end
result: emergency responders can get to the scene sooner and cover a
larger area—essentially anywhere people are, casting a wider net than
stationary sensors can.

And the privacy issue? Does this always-on surveillance mean that the
government can track your precise whereabouts whenever it wants? To
the contrary, Cell-All will operate only on an opt-in basis and will transmit data anonymously.

"Privacy is as important as technology," says Dennis. "After all, for Cell-All to succeed, people must be comfortable enough to turn it on in the first place."

For years, the idea of a handheld weapons of mass destruction
detector has engaged engineers. In 2007, S&T called upon the private
sector to develop concepts of operations. Today, thanks to increasingly
successful prototype demonstrations, the Directorate is actively
funding the next step in R&D—a proof of principle—to see if the
concept is workable.

To this end, three teams from Qualcomm, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), and Rhevision Technology are perfecting
their specific area of expertise. Qualcomm engineers specialize in
miniaturization and know how to shepherd a product to market. Scientists
from the Center for Nanotechnology at NASA's Ames Research Center have
experience with chemical sensing on low-powered platforms, such as the
International Space Station. And technologists from Rhevision have
developed an artificial nose—a piece of porous silicon that changes
colors in the presence of certain molecules, which can be read
spectrographically.

Similarly, S&T is pursuing what's known as cooperative research
and development agreements with four cell phone manufacturers: Qualcomm,
LG, Apple and Samsung. These written agreements, which bring together a
private company and a government agency for a specific project, often
accelerate the commercialization of technology developed for government
purposes. As a result, Dennis hopes to have 40 prototypes in about a
year, the first of which will sniff out carbon monoxide and fire.

To be sure, Cell-All's commercialization may take several
years. Yet the goal seems eminently achievable: Just as Gates once
envisioned a computer on every desk in every home, so Dennis envisions a
chemical sensor in every cell phone in every pocket, purse or belt
holster.

And if it's not already the case, says Dennis, "Our smartphones may soon be smarter than we are" (Physorg, 2010).

Abstract: Your cellphone can already tell you where to find the nearest
Starbucks or the most convenient subway station. But it might soon be
smart enough to alert you to a toxic threat during your morning commute
or coffee break, thanks to a new plan from the Department of Homeland
Security.

The last time we heard about cellphones and terrorism, it was an appeal from the NYPD to shut off cell communication during an attack. Now, Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate
want to use cellphones to detect the very threats that might be
coordinated using wireless chit-chat. Their new program, called
Cell-All, would embed inexpensive, chemical-sniffing microchips into
cellular telephones. If a dangerous level of air-based toxin is
detected, the phone would issue a warning ring (or vibration) to alert
the owner and send a message to a centralized military monitoring
station.

And, since the vast majority of Americans carry cellphones wherever
they go, the program would use aggregated reports of toxin detection
within a small area. If hundreds of cellphones in one location start
flooding the alert system, the military knows they’ve got a serious
threat to contend with. Detection, transmission and analysis would take around 60 seconds, according to a press release from the Directorate.

Given that terrorist attacks are usually launched in highly populated
areas — subways, malls, office buildings — the idea of crowdsourcing
the detection of toxic terror threats makes a lot of sense, and using a
built-in cellphone app would give the military the ability to detect
threats in every corner of the country.

Except that, for now, the program’s manager is describing the initiative as “opt-in.”

“Privacy is as important as technology,” Stephen Dennis said. “After
all, for Cell-All to succeed, people must be comfortable enough to turn
it on in the first place.”

That’s good news for privacy zealots and conspiracy theorists, but
bad news for the program’s potential effectiveness, given that
crowdsourced intelligence depends on knowing that there’s a crowd to be
sourced in the first place.

The Directorate is already in research-and-development talks with
Apple, IG, Qualcomm and Samsung, and anticipate having 40 different
cellphone prototypes within a year (Wired, 2010).

The Razor Stimulant
Training Kit – SIM 10 – intends to provide functional training for RAZOR and
RAZOR Ex operators. The SIM 10 Kit has the same format as The 10 Target Screen
Kit so it can be used with minimal adjustment.

SIM 10 contains
assays for yeast and Bacillus globigii, which are frequently used as powder or
anthrax stimulants in training exercises.

The RAZOR EX system is a portable
bioagent detection system that uses PCR technology. It weighs 11 pounds and
operates with freeze-dried reagents. It can have results ready in approximately 30 minutes.

Since it requires
minimal preparation, the RAZOR EX system can be used in multiple environments
by the military, hazmat, first responders or private security. It can detect 10
Centers for Disease Control Category A and B agents, including anthrax,
brucella, C. botulinum, coxiella, E. coli 0157, tularemia, ricin, salmonella,
smallpox and plague.

“First responders are
called upon frequently to respond to white powder threats, and they need the
best equipment with proper training to effectively respond and make good,
timely decisions," Rachel Jones, Idaho Technology’s vice-president of
marketing and sales, said. "The SIM 10 Kit provides the training they need
to make these decisions in response to credible biological threats” (Bio Prep Watch, 2010).